


I'm With You

by VFDBaudelaireFile13



Category: A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), A Series of Unfortunate Events (TV), A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Sibling Bonding, Sibling bickering, Sibling bond, Survival, soft, triplets bond
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-16
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-12-17 13:08:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21054917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VFDBaudelaireFile13/pseuds/VFDBaudelaireFile13
Summary: The Quagmire Triplets may have been reunited but that doesn't mean their stories ends happily. The Quagmires find themselves in more unfortunate circumstances.





	I'm With You

“_ Brace for impact! _” Hector called out urgently to his three passengers as he tried to steer his invention away from the on-coming danger.

The self-sufficient Hot Air Mobile Home was under attack by devilish eagles who have been trained by two of the worst members of the fire-starting side of the schism. With every successful pop of each balloon they attacked, the hot air mobile home shook causing Hector and the Quagmire triplets to fall to the ground.

“What do we do?” Duncan cried as he began frantically packing a backpack with food and first-aid supplies. 

Quigley and Isadora looked at one another as another balloon popped.

“I wish Violet were here,” both triplets said simultaneously.

“Same!” Duncan called out in agreement.

“Maybe one of us can think of something,” Isadora suggested although she highly doubted this. Almost without warning, she and her two triplet brothers were thrust harshly to the floor again.

“_ How!? _” Quigley yelled desperately. “We’re a journalist, a poet, and a damn cartographer!” 

“But there’s always something!” Isadora shouted, her voice full of worry as she repeated a saying used by an old friend of hers.

“Hector! Can’t you get us closer to land?” Duncan asked fearfully. Quigley looked over the edge of the basket he was standing in and looked back at his brother with a worried expression.

“I think you mean ‘sea’!” 

“I’m trying!” Hector called back panicked. It was true, he was trying his best to steer his invention away from the attacking eagles but with each balloon that gets popped, Hector was thrown to the ground or to the side just like the Quagmire triplets.

Isadora began packing a backpack with clothes and blankets. “Maybe the water will soften our fall?” she replied hopefully.

As another balloon popped, the home began to tilt, causing all three triplets to slide and nearly fall over the edge. Quigley, who stood in the middle, grabbed both of his siblings around their waists just in time.

“_ We’re fucked! _” Quigley yelled as Duncan began to cry and Isadora started to shake in fear. Quigley looked at his siblings as he pulled them closer to him. “We’re not losing each other again,” he said in the most serious tone either one of his siblings had ever heard him speak.

Duncan looked at his brother and nodded his head in agreement as Isadora gave both her brothers a small, hopeful smile.

“Don’t you guys _ dare _die on me!” she yelled.

“We’ll try not to!” Duncan replied.

Hector held on to the steering wheel of his invention as the eagles successfully popped three more balloons simultaneously. The three triplets held on to each other as tightly as they could as the ground beneath them began to plummet. 

Duncan began to scream as loud as his boyfriend had when he and his two sisters were falling down an ersatz elevator shaft. Isadora held tightly to both her brothers as she closed her eyes, she screamed too, just not as loud as her brother. Quigley, who held onto his older triplets with all his might, kept whispering desperate “_ no _”s every three seconds as he forced his eyes to stay open. He refused to lose either one of his siblings. He tried to convince himself that he was on some kind of amusement park ride and not falling to their deaths.

The three landed with a harsh and sick sounding _ THUMP! _As they hit the water, but unfortunately for the triplets, the force of the impact caused all three children to be thrown into the ocean in opposite directions.

Duncan and Isadora weren’t aware of what happened until they both landed in the depths of the ocean clutching their backpacks since their eyes were closed during the fall. Isadora landed into the sea with a harsh _ PLOP! _On her back, as she began to panic, searching for her brothers and Hector. Isadora could feel her muscles begin to ache as she moved around in the water. The force of the crash gave her a minor headache as well.

Duncan landed with a tough _ THUMP! _ Against something sharp and metallic. He slowly slid into the ocean with a fast _ Swish! _The second he made contact with the ocean he began to scream in pure agony.

Quigley, on the other hand, had kept his eyes open the entire time, so he watched in horror as Duncan and Isadora were both disentangled from his grasp. He watched as Duncan was thrown towards the large engine of the mobile home. He watched as Isadora was thrown straight into the depths of the sea. 

“_ Duncan! NO!” _ Quigley shouted. “ _ Isadora! NO!” _

Quigley was thrown the highest because he didn’t have a heavy backpack weighing him down like his siblings. He flew hitting his entire body on Hector’s library of books with the hardest and harshest _ THUMP! _Effectively knocking him out cold.

Isadora began looking around for either Hector, Duncan, or Quigley. She was sure she could hear Duncan’s ever-present girly shrieks. “Duncan!” she called out.

“Isa! It burns!” Duncan cried in response. “It fucking burns!” 

“What burns?” 

“My leg!... I think!” 

“What the fuck happened to your leg?!” 

“That’s...not...important right now…” Duncan cried wincing in pain. “Where’s Quigley and Hector?”

Before she could answer Duncan, Isadora noticed a shade of red nearing her in the water. She screamed as she desperately began searching for her younger triplet brother. 

“What?” Duncan called out slowly trying to maneuver himself closer to where he assumed his sister was, as he listened to her screams.”

“B-blood,” she whimpered at a volume that her brother could not hear. “_ Quigley! _” she called out desperately. “Duncan! Do you see Quigley?” 

Duncan looked around fearfully looking for his brother and fearfully realizing that the stinging in his leg was subsiding, he highly doubted this was a good thing.”I don’t see him, Isa!” 

“_ We can’t lose him _ ** _again, _ ** _ Duncan!” _Isadora yelled.

“_ We _ ** _won’t _ ** _ lose him again, Isadora!” _Duncan replied although he had his doubts. 

Both siblings began to desperately call out their brother’s name.

“_ Quigley!” _

“_ Quigley!” _

** _“Quiggleforth Quagmire!”_ **

_ “ _ ** _Quigley Kingswell!” _ **

This went on for around two to three minutes, each call for their brother became more urgent and desperate than the last. Isadora began crying as Duncan was beginning to forget all about his injured leg that was still submerged in saltwater. Duncan’s head shot up when he heard his sister stop calling for Quigley and began screaming at an ear-piercing volume.

“What? _ What!? _” Duncan cried as he finally reached his sister when he saw what she was looking at, he screamed an ear-shattering scream of his own. 

Both siblings felt a bit of sorrow as they stared at Hector’s impaled corpse. Isadora realized almost immediately that this must have been where the blood was coming from. Hector’s wooden steering wheel must have cracked due to the pressure of the initial fall but when the Quagmire triplets were thrown into the ocean, Hector was thrown into the steering wheel’s sharpest spike. Both Duncan and Isadora hoped that Hector’s death was quick and painless, they both felt as though he had deserved better. He had done his best to help the Quagmires and Baudelaires escape the Village of Fowl Devotees and even though he was unable to get the Baudelaires aboard his invention, he had helped the two elder Quagmire triplets reunite with their brother, Quigley. Duncan and Isadora both felt a ping of guilt as they both shared a similar thought.

_ Thank God that wasn’t Quigley. _

But this didn’t fully ease either one of their anxieties concerning Quigley’s whereabouts. They both wondered where in the world their brother could be.

Finally, after another five minutes, that felt like an eternity to the two elder Quagmire triplets, Isadora smiled as Duncan shouted, “Isa! I see him!” 

Isadora grabbed Duncan’s hand as they swam towards Quigley who laid on his back almost lifeless.

“Quigley!” Isadora shouted happily until she got a better look at her brother, “...Quigley…?” 

“You scared us, bro!” Duncan shouted as he neared Quigley, realizing his eyes were closed and his breathing was faint.

“...Quig?” 

“Oh my God!” Duncan cried, “He’s dead!” 

“He’s not dead, you idiot!” Isadora shouted splashing Duncan. “He’s just unconscious! Don’t even joke like that!” 

Duncan took a better look at Quigley frowning. His brother seemed fine other than the fact that he was knocked out during the crash. _ Could’ve been worse. _Duncan thought thinking about poor Hector. Duncan looked at Isadora as his leg began to feel a bit numb. “Isa...not to worry you but my leg is starting to feel funny. I can’t stay in the ocean much longer and neither can Quigley. I have supplies in my backpack but we need to get out of the water.” 

Isadora sighed but nodded her head as Duncan put his hands under his brother to keep him afloat. Isadora looked around desperately. _ It’s like what Violet said...there’s always something! _She thought as her eyes fixated on what looked like an untouched basket. “Duncan!” she called out as Duncan turned his head to see what she was talking about. The basket was floating above the water like a buoy.

“There’s no way we’re going to get in that. We’d tip it over trying,” 

“We have to try!” 

“How, Izzie? How?” 

“Just follow me,” she said as she grabbed ahold of one Quigley’s hands as Duncan took the other and the two triplets guided their unconscious triplet towards the hot air balloon basket. When they reached it, Isadora threw her backpack inside the basket and as Duncan made sure Quigley stayed afloat, Isadora took Duncan’s backpack and threw it inside. Isadora looked at both of her brothers then gave Duncan a hopeful smile. “Come on,” she said putting her two hands together gesturing to Duncan to place his foot into her hands.

“What?” her brother asked dumbfoundedly. 

“I’m going to boost you up,” 

“What do you mean?”

“Well, even without the injured leg, you’re not a climber. If you were Quigley I wouldn’t even have to offer help but Quigley’s knocked out right now and you can’t even climb a tree,” 

Duncan glared at her. “I _ can _ climb a tree! I _ jumped out _ of the tree because you and Quigley were making me uncomfortable!”

“Oh, stop being a baby. We were just trying to give you ‘the talk’,” Isadora replied rolling her eyes.

“Exactly! You guys were making me uncomfortable! So I jumped out of the treehouse!” 

“Jumped...fell...same difference,” Isadora said rolling her eyes again. “Either way, you can’t climb for shit. You’re the least sporty of us,”

“Least sporty?”

“Yeah. I’ll admit it, Quigley is the most sporty and I’m right behind him. You are way far below us,” Isadora mentioned. “You know how Sunny is the sportiest Baudelaire,”

“Wait...what?”

“Well, no offense to Violet but Sunny is definitely the most sporty of those three and Klaus is definitely the least sporty…”

“Hey!” Duncan said defensively, “Leave Klaus alone!” 

“Oh, shush. It’s another reason why you two are so cute together...you’re both nerdy weaklings,” 

Duncan blushed and glared at what his sister said. “Thanks...I think?” 

Isadora gestured to her hands again. “Come on, don’t you want to get your leg out of the saltwater?” she asked annoyed looking at Quigley who was still peacefully unconscious.

Duncan sighed but let go of Quigley so he could climb on his sister in hopes to get inside the basket. Isadora struggled to lift Duncan as far above her head as she could as she felt Duncan wobbling the higher she lifted him. “Bro, jump!” she yelled up at him when Duncan grabbed on to the edge of the basket, straddling it looking down at the ocean and then at the bottom of the basket. “I swear to God, Duncan! If you fall back into the ocean, you are on your own!”

With a slight _ thud! _Duncan rolled to the left and let go of the edge of the basket as he fell on top of both the backpacks. “Okay, now what?” 

“Quigley’s turn,” Isadora replied as she grabbed ahold of her younger triplet brother. 

“Wait...how?”

“You’re gonna stand up and pull him in the basket while I lift him up,”

“That’s not going to work…”

“Why?”

“My leg is cut...badly,” Duncan said as he looked down at his leg. His pants had been cut along with his leg itself. He couldn’t tell if the salt from the ocean had helped his wound or if it had made it worse. The laceration was straight on his lower leg reaching from just below his knee to right above his ankle. “I don’t think I can stand up,”

“You’re going to have to!” Isadora pleaded. “Look, we’re going to be fine! We just all need to get into that basket!” 

Duncan slowly stood up as he began to wince and cry out in pain. “Please make this quick,” he pleaded as he reached out of the basket trying desperately to reach his brother while trying his best to ignore each shock of pain that was going through his body. 

Isadora tried to lift her brother above her head but she dropped him. Quigley splashed into the ocean, Duncan and Isadora watched in horror as water splashed over their brother’s face with no reaction from Quigley. They could see he was still breathing but they were still afraid. Duncan slid down the side of the basket crying to himself as Isadora stared at Quigley trying to figure out how she was going to do this. It wasn’t as easy as it was to get Duncan in the basket. With Duncan fully conscious and aware of what Isadora was trying to do, he was able to help her. Quigley was unconscious and his body felt lifeless. _ There’s always something. _She reminded herself. “Duncan, we gotta try again.”

“It hurts, Isa,” Duncan cried.

“I know...I know...I promise we’ll focus on that next. We just gotta get Quigley into the basket,” she said calmly. She knew getting angry at Duncan wasn’t going to help their situation. It was only them. They had to work together no matter what. 

“Duncan...I think I can lift him high enough this time,” she pleaded. Duncan punched the basket in frustration. He wasn’t frustrated with Isadora or Quigley, he was frustrated with their situation. He slowly stood back up, trying his best to suppress his screams. 

“Okay, let’s do this,” Duncan winced as he leaned over the basket again, as far as he could.

Isadora pushed Quigley’s body into the bottom of the basket, lining him up with where Duncan was leaning over. She looked up at her brother and gave him a small smile, “Be ready,” she said to him as she took a deep breath and swam under the water. Duncan looked at her confused as she disappeared into the water.

Duncan kept his pose with his arms reaching out of the basket, doing his best to ignore the ever-present pain in his leg. Without warning, Isadora shot up from the water while lifting Quigley as she shot herself up. Duncan reached out grabbing Quigley’s arms tightly. 

“Fuck yes!” Isadora yelled happily. “Good job, Duncan! Now pull.” She said as she grabbed onto her brother’s feet and lifted him up with ease since Duncan was pulling his arms the best he could as he screamed in pain with the extra pressure being put on his leg. Finally, the two older triplets were successful in getting their brother into the basket as Quigley fell right on top of Duncan landing on his leg. 

“Fuck!” Duncan yelled as he gently rolled Quigley off of him. He checked Quigley’s breathing, happy to know he’s still alive. “Wait, how are you going to get up here?” he called out to his sister.

Isadora didn’t answer which worried Duncan. “Isa?” 

No answer.

“Isadora Avi!” Duncan yelled fearfully.

“Duncan Dylan!” Isadora called back mockingly.

“Stop being a bitch,” Duncan replied annoyed. “You weren’t answering me, I was worried.”

“If you stood up…”

“I’ve stood up _ enough,” _

Isadora rolled her eyes. “I’m looking for oars...or something we can use for oars,” she explained as she swam around looking at the wreckage for the first time since the crash. She was just happy that both her brothers were safe now. Her muscles ached more than when they had first crashed but she swam through the mild inconvenience. She swam because she knew she needed to do this, she was the least injured during the crash so it didn’t matter if Duncan was older than her by five minutes or that Quigley was sportier than her. She had to do this for her brothers, she had to do this for herself. With Hector, their illegitimate guardian, dead...it was just the three Quagmires right now. Until they find the Baudelaires again. _ If Violet were here, she would’ve figured out how to stop the mobile home from falling...even if it did fall, she would’ve invented a better boat than some hot air balloon basket. _Isadora thought. But it was all the triplets had at this point so it would have to do. 

Finally, Isadora found two long pieces of wood that she and Duncan can use as oars and she found a bit of rope. She swam back to the basket as she called out to Duncan. “Bro,” 

“Yeah?” 

“I need you to stand up one more time,” 

“Isa…it hurts,”

“I know...and I’m going to fix it. I just need you to take hold of these oars,” she explained. Duncan slowly stood up as he grabbed the pieces of wood, placing them standing up in the basket. Isadora threw him one end of the rope. 

“What’s this for?” 

“You’re going to hold on to it as I scale up the basket,” 

“But won’t it tip over?” Duncan asked worriedly.

“It shouldn’t. With you and Quigley already inside I should be fine. It might bobble a bit but I doubt it’ll tip over,” Isadora said as she began to scale the basket. Duncan held on to the rope as tightly as he could until Isadora was at a point where he could grab her. He helped his sister in the basket as she went right towards Duncan’s backpack. Duncan slid down again looking at both his siblings. 

“We’re going to die aren’t we?” he asked.

“No. Well, eventually everyone dies but we aren’t dying any time soon,”

“Momento mori,” he recited in a quiet whisper.

Isadora frowned but nodded her head slightly as both children remembered their horrible time at Prufrock Preparatory School. Isadora pulled out Hector’s first-aid kit and began to look over her brother’s laceration. She grabbed her backpack and threw him a blanket.

“What’s this for?”

“To bite down on and to comfort you. Whatever you need it to do,” she explained as she began to disinfect the cut. Duncan winced in pain as he looked towards his brother. Quigley was looking a mixture of pale and blue. Duncan laid the blanket over Quigley in hopes of warming up his brother. Isadora noticed this and gave Duncan a small smile. “We’ll worry about him next. Good news is the salt might have burned but it helped the wound close. Which means I won’t have to amputate…”

“Amputate?!” Duncan cried pulling his leg away from his sister, who started laughing. “I wouldn’t let you near me with a fucking knife. Do I look crazy?” 

“Do you want the honest answer?”

“Fuck off, sis,” 

Isadora continued to laugh as Duncan slowly slid his leg back towards her, allowing her to finish patching him up. After a few moments of peaceful silence, Duncan cleared his throat. “Isa?”

“Yeah?”

“Did you mean what you said earlier?”

“Depends on what you’re referring to,”

“About me and...Klaus?” Duncan asked in a whisper.

Isadora chuckled and nodded her head. “Yeah. You guys are adorable. I support it wholeheartedly,” 

“...do you think we’ll see them again?”

“Hopefully,” she said as she finished bandaging her brother’s leg. “Okay, Quigley’s turn,” she said, turning to her unconscious brother. Both Duncan and Isadora frowned seeing their brother in this condition. 

“He’s going to live, right?” Duncan asked in a soft voice.

“Yeah...definitely. He survived the fire, didn’t he?” Isadora replied as she looked over her brother for any major or minor injuries. To her surprise, other than a bump on the back of his head and a couple of bruises, Quigley was perfectly fine. He handed Duncan an oar. “Come on, we gotta get to land…”

“Which direction should we head towards?” Duncan asked.

She sighed looking down at Quigley. “I’m not sure...I’m not the cartographer. Let’s just pick a direction and hope for the best,”

“When you hope for the best...the best rarely comes,” Duncan pointed out.

“It’s all we can do,” she explained.

Duncan and Isadora shared a silent look, the two rowed in silence after deciding which direction they should go. Both of them jumped when they heard a voice that put a smile on both of their faces.

“...Violet…?” Quigley called out as he gazed up towards the sky.

“Quigley!” Duncan shouted happily almost letting go of his oar.

“Oh my God, Quigley!” Isadora cried happily as she lifted her oar back into the basket. 

“...Violet!” Quigley yelled opening his eyes more.

“No...Violet’s not with us,” Duncan explained.

“It’s just us,” Isadora added.

Quigley lifted his head slightly. “Where…? Where are we? What happened? Where’s Violet?” 

“We’re in the middle of the ocean,”

“The hot air mobile home was attacked and we fell from the sky,”

“We don’t know where the Baudelaires are. We don’t even know where we are,”

Quigley looked at his two triplets as he sat up rubbing the back of his head. “Wait...where’s Hector?”

Duncan and Isadora looked at one another. “He’s...he’s dead, Quigley,” Isadora said as Duncan started crying.

“We’re fucked aren’t we?” he asked.

“Well if you count rowing a hot air balloon basket in the middle of the ocean with barely any supplies as ‘fucked’ then yes, we are fucked,” Isadora replied.

Quigley nodded. “I know what we need to do,”

“What?” Duncan asked.

“We need to find VFD they’ll help us,” Quigley replied. 

Both of his siblings looked at one another and then looked at him with an incredulous face.

“I’m sorry what?” Isadora asked.

“VFD. We have to find them. They’ll help us,”

“So, bro, don’t take this the wrong way but how hard did you hit your head?” Duncan asked.

“What do you mean?”

“VFD isn’t going to help us and even if they wanted to we would happily decline,” 

“Why would you decline!?” Quigley asked annoyed.

“Because it’s a cult,” Duncan explained.

“No, it’s not. It’s an organization,”

“Which is a fancy word for ‘cult’,” Isadora explained.

“But Jacques Snicket said…” Quigley began.

“Jacques Snicket was one of their brainwashed associates, bro,” Duncan interrupted.

“But…” 

“Bro, we aren’t getting anywhere near VFD,” Isadora said.

“But…”

“No buts,” Duncan added. “It’s a cult.”

“You guys are crazy,” 

“No...you’re crazy if you think we’re going to join a fucking cult,”

“What if it’s our only option,”

“That makes it worse!” Duncan yelled.

Quigley frowned as he stood up to gaze out at the ocean. “So where are we headed?” he asked in a quieter tone, he didn’t understand why his siblings were calling VFD a cult but he didn’t want to argue with them, not in their current situation.

Isadora shrugged. “Hopefully towards land,”

“_ Hopefully,” _Quigley repeated. “So you don’t know?”

“We’re not obsessed with maps! How would we know?” Isadora yelled.

“If you don’t know it would be better to just sit still…”

“Sit still in the middle of the ocean?” Duncan asked.

“Yes! You could be rowing us further from land!” Quigley explained.

“Well then map boy, how about you chart a course to land?” Isadora replied annoyed.

“I will,” Quigley replied as he began to look in every direction. Finally, his eyes saw large grey clouds of smoke in the distance. “There!” he called out to his siblings, pointing towards the smoke. 

“How are you so sure?” Duncan asked as he stared at the smoke frowning. 

“The ocean can’t be on fire,” Quigley said simply. “Whatever’s on fire is on land...so we should row _ that _way,” 

Isadora and Duncan rolled their eyes as Quigley took the oar from Duncan. Both siblings didn’t say anything. “What? Aren’t you guys going to say good job, Quigley or Wow, you’re such a genius, Quigley?” 

Isadora looked from Quigley to Duncan. “You know what, we should’ve left his ass in the damn ocean,” she said as Quigley laughed. 

“Then you guys would probably die at sea,” Quigley replied as his siblings rolled their eyes. 

“Come on, Quiggleforth. Let’s row towards the smoke,” Isadora said as she and Quigley began rowing.

Duncan stared at the smoke for a while as they began to row closer and closer to land, he looked towards his siblings. “What do you think is on fire?” he asked curiously.

Isadora shrugged as Quigley looked towards the smoke. “I can’t be sure but it seems like the building is tall...like a hotel,” 

“A hotel?”

“Could be…” 

“But why would a hotel be on fire?”

This time Quigley shrugged as Isadora looked at her brothers. “Maybe its a signal…”

“Who would use a burning building as a signal?” Quigley asked.

“Your precious cult,” Isadora replied.

“It’s not a cult!” Quigley said defensively. 

Finally, the Quagmire triplets reached land. They found themselves on a desolate beach. Quigley took no time in jumping out of the basket onto the sand of the shore. 

“You should really be careful,” Duncan called out to his brother. “You just had a head injury...you shouldn’t risk another one,”

“I’ll be fine,” Quigley replied as he grabbed hold of the basket and pulling it down on its side making it easier for his siblings to get out. When he did this Duncan fell on Isadora and both siblings looked up at Quigley with pure annoyance.

“You couldn’t give a girl some warning?” Isadora asked as she maneuvered herself out of the basket. Duncan slowly crawled out of the basket as Quigley and Isadora began looking around the beach. Duncan sat in the sand watching his siblings pace back and forth.

“Now what?” Duncan asked his siblings. “We’re homeless, we’re broke, we’re orphans…” 

“Yes, thank you for reminding us, Duncan,” Quigley replied irritated.

“I’m just stating the obvious,” 

“This is why we need VFD,” Quigley mentioned.

“No!” Isadora yelled. “Stop mentioning VFD,”

“You guys,” Duncan called out.

“Why are you guys so against VFD? It might be our only hope!”

“VFD has caused us nothing but trouble, Quigley!”

“You guys,” 

“Okay, I’ll admit. It’s not perfect but…”

“Quigley! It’s a cult!” 

“You guys!” Duncan shouted.

“What!” Both his siblings replied simultaneously.

“We have company,” Duncan replied as he pointed towards a figure walking towards them in the sand. Quickly Quigley ran to stand in front of his injured brother as Isadora looked around in the sand for any potential weapons. She noticed a metal bat on the ground and ran to pick it up before the figure could get close to her or her brothers. She held it firmly in her hands, ready to swing if the figure tried anything.

The figure stopped a few steps in front of them. She was a young woman with blonde hair. They couldn’t see a majority of her face because she was wearing sunglasses. But if they could see her eyes, the triplets would have seen just how happy she was to see them.

“Duncan...Isadora...and Quigley Quagmire?” the woman asked.

Isadora clenched the bat tighter in her hands. “How do you know our names?” 

“You’re safe. You escaped Olaf…” the woman said looking at Duncan and Isadora before turning to Quigley. “And you’re not dead. The file must have been talking about you,” 

“What file?” Duncan asked.

“That’s not important,” the woman replied.

“You’re right. That’s not important,” Isadora replied. “What’s important is you telling us how you know our names,”

The woman noticed the bat in Isadora’s hands and gave a small frown. “I mean you no harm, Isadora.”

“That’s what people say before they harm you,” Quigley replied. “Why should we trust you?”

“Because it seems that you children have found yourselves in a very frightening dilemma,” the woman replied.

Duncan and Isadora began to glare at the woman as Quigley began to smile. “VFD? You’re from VFD?” he asked happily.

Before the woman had a chance to reply, Isadora stepped in front of her brothers. “We will not be volunteering, thank you.” 

The woman chuckled. “I’m not here to recruit you,” 

“Then why are you here?” Duncan asked.

“Why does it matter?” Quigley asked. “VFD found us! We’re going to be okay,”

“Quigley...shut up,” Isadora replied then looking at the woman. “Answer his question,”

“Believe it or not, but I am here looking for several children…” she began.

“To kidnap and recruit?” Duncan asked.

“No. To help. To save. To protect,” the woman replied. “I have heard rumors that the Baudelaire orphans were here recently and I was coming here to collect evidence of such.”

“Why are you looking for the Baudelaires?” Quigley asked in a worried tone.

“To help them,” the woman replied. “But I am glad that I found you three,”

“Why?” Isadora asked still glaring.

“You three were on my list as well. I’ve heard all about your troubles and how many associates were unable to help you three. I’ve heard of your kidnapping at Prufrock Prep and I’ve heard of your journey to Mount Fraught. I’ve heard of how that organization had failed you three and failed your friends and failed many other children.” 

“We’re not interested in joining VFD,” Duncan informed the woman.

“What?” Quigley asked looking at Duncan and then turned to the woman. “Ignore him. He doesn’t know what he’s saying,” 

“Quigley!” Isadora yelled. “We are not joining VFD,”

“Yes, we are,” 

“Quagmires, I am not asking you to join VFD. What I am doing though, is offering you a safe place to live for the time being,”

The triplets looked at one another. “You don’t know us though,” Quigley informed.

“You’re right. I heard of your misfortunes and I want to make things right, the best I can. I used to work alongside people who worked alongside your parents. I could tell you as much as you want to know about them, their involvement in VFD, and everything else you’d like to know,” 

Quigley looked at his siblings. “I think we should go with her,” he said.

“What?” Isadora replied.

“She’s VFD!” 

“Exactly why we shouldn’t go with her!” Duncan replied.

“No that’s why we should go with her!” Quigley explained. “She’s VFD. She can keep us safe!” 

“Doubt it. What if she volunteers us?” Isadora asked.

“Who cares?” 

“Bro, it’s a fucking cult!” Isadora replied as Duncan nodded.

“No, it’s not!” Quigley replied.

“Quigley, I’m sorry to say that your siblings are right. VFD _ is _a cult. Which is why I have defected from them and my goal is to fix the mess they’ve created to the best of my abilities,” the woman explained.

“But…”

“Members don’t volunteer...they get taken from their parents by their ankles…” the woman explained. “I can explain all of it to you...if you want. But you have to come with me,” 

“Where would we go?” Duncan asked.

“We’d go into hiding…no doubt many of VFD’s enemies are still alive and are looking for you three…”

“Shit. She’s right,” Isadora interrupted.

“Olaf can’t get us again,” Duncan said to Isadora. 

“He won’t!” Quigley replied looking at his siblings.

“You’re right. He won’t...I’d like to see him try,” the woman replied. “Look, I know it’s a lot asking you to trust a stranger you just met on the beach and if I were you I would have some serious doubts as well. But just know that if you do come with me, I would protect you from Olaf and from VFD.”

The Quagmire triplets looked at one another and then at the woman. All three pondering what she had said and all three pondering what could happen to them if they declined this offer. After a long moment of silence, Isadora dropped the bat allowing it to hit the sand as Quigley helped Duncan to his feet. 

The woman watched as all three Quagmires nodded their heads and smiled at her.

“What do we have to lose?” Quigley asked as he allowed Duncan to put an arm around his shoulders for support as he walked. 

Isadora looked at the woman as they began walking towards her taxi. “Look, if you are still with VFD and you’re recruiting us...don’t you dare try to separate us,” she told the woman. 

The woman looked at Isadora and smiled, “I would never dream of splitting you three up,” the woman replied. “And like I’ve said before I am not recruiting you,”

“That’s what they all say. I bet Jacques Snicket didn’t tell Quigley he was indicting him into a cult when he did it.”

Quigley rolled his eyes. “I still don’t see it as a cult,”

“After my explanations, you’ll probably change your opinion, Quigley,” the woman said.

“I have one question,” Duncan called out.

“And what is that?” 

“You said you were looking for children who VFD essentially failed, correct?”

“Yes,”

“Which includes the Baudelaires?” 

“Among a few others, yes,” 

“Do you think you’ll ever find them?” Duncan asked as all three Quagmires silently hoped for a good answer. The woman looked towards the direction of the smoke and frowned at the sight of the burning building. As she watched the smoke cover the sky, she knew why Hotel Denouement was on fire. She knows who miraculously escaped via impressive invention. She also knew who was with them as they escaped. She sighed unsure of what she should answer. 

“That’s the goal. I won’t stop until I’ve helped every child on my list,” she replied. She watched as the Quagmires smiled at that. 

For the first time in a long time, the Quagmires felt a sense of security. They felt safe. They felt nearly complete. They had each other and that was the greatest feeling ever. They never wanted to be separated again. But they also wanted their friends back. They missed the three Baudelaire orphans like crazy and they had hope that this strange woman, this rogue, defected volunteer would be able to find them again and reunite the six children. 

As they piled in the back of her taxi after they set their backpacks in the trunk. The three Quagmires sat as close as possible to each other leaning their heads on each other’s shoulders. The woman began to drive and one by one the Quagmires fell into a peaceful sleep. First Duncan, who laid his head on Isadora’s left shoulder. Then Quigley, who laid his head on Isadora’s right shoulder. Finally, after battling the urge to sleep for several minutes. Isadora placed her arms around her brothers as she allowed her head to drift back as she fell into a peaceful slumber. 

The three Quagmires didn’t know what was next in their journeys all they did know was that as long as they were together, they were unstoppable. The three of them were forces not to be messed with. They’ve survived through so much both separated and together, they doubted that anything was going to triumph over them any time soon.


End file.
